An Israeli company working on manufacturing oxygen on the moon
for future colonization has hit on a recipe that could significantly lower
carbon dioxide emissions and expenses for the steel industry.
Producing iron, naturally present in the Earth as
iron oxides, is the first step in manufacturing steel. Conventionally, coal and
iron oxides are combined in scorching blast furnaces to bond oxygen molecules
with carbon molecules. During this process, the bioproduct is carbon
dioxide (CO2),
which we all know to be a significant greenhouse gas.